Sn-Pb Mixed Perovskites with Fullerene-Derivative Interlayers for Efficient Four-Terminal All-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells

Interfacial engineering is the key to high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs). While a wide range of fullerene interlayers are investigated for Pb-based counterparts with a bandgap of >1.5 eV, the role of fullerene interlayers is barely investigated in Sn-Pb mixed narrow-bandgap (NBG) PSCs. In this work, two novel solution-processed fullerene derivatives are investigated, namely indene-C60-propionic acid butyl ester and indene-C60-propionic acid hexyl ester (IPH), as the interlayers in NBG PSCs. It is found that the devices with IPH-interlayer show the highest performance with a remarkable short-circuit current density of 30.7 mA cm(-2) and a low deficit in open-circuit voltage. The reduction in voltage deficit down to 0.43 V is attributed to reduced non-radiative recombination that the authors attribute to two aspects: 1) a higher conduction band offset of approximate to 0.2 eV (>0 eV) that hampers charge-carrier-back-transfer recombination; 2) a decrease in trap density at the perovskite/interlayer/C-60 interfaces that results in reduced trap-assisted recombination. In addition, incorporating the IPH interlayer enhances charge extraction within the devices that results in considerable enhancement in short-circuit current density. Using a NBG device with an IPH interlayer, a respectable power conversion efficiency of 24.8% is demonstrated in a four-terminal all-perovskite tandem solar cell.

Automated summary

In this study, two novel solution-processed fullerene derivatives were investigated as interlayers in narrow-bandgap perovskite solar cells (PSCs), with one of them showing the best performance. The interlayer reduced non-radiative recombination and enhanced charge extraction, leading to improved device performance. The authors achieved a respectable power conversion efficiency of 24.8% in a four-terminal all-perovskite tandem solar cell with the use of the novel interlayer.